Spero Family Services

I don’t know about you, but I can use all the parenting help I can get sometimes, especially with my ever-so-spirited 3-year-old! Don’t you wish Super Nanny could ride on your shoulder and coach you with how to handle certain situations?

April Thompson is a licensed marriage and family therapist and parent coach with Spero Family Services and offers monthly parenting classes. The next one called “Empowered Parenting” will be held on November 7th. She will cover topics like developmental needs, discipline, parenting styles and setting boundaries. Did she know to create this class just for me? Seriously.

April was nice enough to write an expert advice article for us on the topic of bonding with your children:

WAYS TO BOND WITH YOUR CHILDBy April Thompson, LMFT

Do you struggle to connect with your child sometimes? Maybe even all the time? Was that hard for you to admit? That’s okay, because you’re normal. Welcome to the world of most parents. Many parents are dealing with the stressors of being a family where both parents have to work, or maybe your job is a stay at home mom and you struggle balancing your needs and theirs, or you’re dealing with co-parenting due to divorce, or maybe you’re a single parent.

No matter what, its tough to be a parent and give your child(ren) everything they need. So what do you do? Your child is constantly probing you for attention, or your child is notorious for interrupting you when you just started a project. Maybe your child wants nothing to do with you at all, or you have a sibling jealousy issue. The whining little voice that stays in the back of your head, “You gave Johnny more than me”. Or better yet, “Why can’t you buy me those True Religion Jeans, everyone else at school has them?” As if $200 jeans are going to solve their problems. So what do you do?

For starters, providing some empathy might help them feel understood (even if you don’t agree with their ploys). Then offering some encouragement or having them come up with some solutions with you. Example: “Sorry you felt left out, that must have been sad for you, what could I do to help you feel more involved?”

Find out what they really enjoy doing and do it with them, if its playing a video game, playing Barbies, going to the park, etc. Notice when they are doing a good job, and praise them for it. Surprise them with little notes or pictures in their school bag or on their bed. Have your child help you when you’re doing chores, give them small tasks such as collecting all the dirty laundry. Have 1:1 time scheduled for each child, and stick to it as much as you can.

Most importantly, have family time together every week. Pick an evening for this, let each member have a chance to choose the activity. These are a few examples to get you started.

If you are interested in finding out more about developmental needs, boundaries, limit setting, or parenting tips, feel free to contact me.